Invermere/Radium - Conditions?

[Shibby!]

Has anybody been out there yet? What's it like for non-stud users?

Planning a trip this weekend and would like some reassurance.

I've been to Golden a few weeks ago and in town there was very little snow. I've heard rumours Invermere/Radium is even better? Can anybody confirm?

Sledding sucks right now with lack of snow and horrible avy conditions so looking to get out some other way!

[steve-o]

cal?

[MtnBlue]

I've heard the west side rd is dry, not sure about Steamboat

[rogue]

I was down hilling there 2 / 3 weeks ago on rubber in invermere on MT Swansea. The higher stuff had snow still and north still had some ice. Steamboat still had snow. I would think steam boat would be alright by now on the lower stuff, but the north facing is bound to still be icy.
Let us know what you find out, hope it is good to go.

[Shibby!]

I was down hilling there 2 / 3 weeks ago on rubber in invermere on MT Swansea. The higher stuff had snow still and north still had some ice. Steamboat still had snow. I would think steam boat would be alright by now on the lower stuff, but the north facing is bound to still be icy.
Let us know what you find out, hope it is good to go.

I know of west side rd and paradise. Where is steam boat?

Going with somebody new to dirt. Will likely be sticking to easy stuff.

[MtnBlue]

Steamboat is in Radium, other side of the river past the sawmill

[Shibby!]

Steamboat is in Radium, other side of the river past the sawmill

I'm somewhat familiar with this area from going to Forrester and Mcdonald sledding areas.

Is there any indications of where you can stage and boundaries?

[absurveyor]

Did you make it out to Radium?, How was it and is it worth the trip?

[Shibby!]

Did you make it out to Radium?, How was it and is it worth the trip?

Sadly we didn't make it. My buddy fell ill and the other backed out.

We did end up going to Wiaprous. Conditions were good with exceptions of frozen ground and a bit of snow. Studs still recommended.

One of the guys we were riding with who was new to the sport had a pretty bad accident that ended the day. He's recovering well which is good though.

This weekend or the next we'll likley plan another trip. Invermere or somewhere else. Will let people know of conditions when I find out!

[Ynot303]

I was just south of Fairmont on the weekend and it is very dry out there. I would imagine you would only run into ice or snow at higher elevations or North slopes.

[absurveyor]

Does anyone have some Radium GPS tracks or maps they could pm me please? I am interested in where the steamboat trail is?

Thanks
JD

[absurveyor]

Well I answered my own questions and spent Easter weekend In Radium. We only rode Steamboat on rubber all weekend since the area off westside road( the locals call it Rushmere) was a zoo. The freindly guy at B&P cycles in Invermere said the conservation officers were cracking down at Rushmere like they had at kook. He said kook was done and it was not even worth trying due to the crackdown.

Back to steamboat. Friday we ran in to a Calgary guy who gave us a breif rundown of where to ride and we spent the afternoon just getting an idea of what was there. Lots of high speed fire road and 2 track. Very similar ground to kook but more technical with the climbs and side hills. The shady areas were still frozen and we both had a few moments blasting through a corner only to find out the ground was still frozen! Saturday was a tourists day. Sunday we found some decent singletrack and linked to some sweet rolling 2 track and put on lots of good km's.

Monday we linked together a few trails for some high speed loops and found some sweet singletrack and climbed to 1500m until the snow stopped us. The views were amazing!
We also "accidentaly" ended up on a sweet steep mountainbike trail and gently rode it out so we did not cause any damage. It was to steep to turn around and climb without damage. This trail was impeccably groomed and had the most insane jumps and ramps setup, just like in the videos. On a dirt bike it would be just like a Romaniacs stage. My son let me know I was evil for even riding on the trail Maybe I should let him go back to pedalling for a while! The trail has a road at the top and bottom for a shuttle. Mat and I will MTB this trail on our next trip out!

Overall it was well worth it and later in the summer would be a great ride. One rider there said you can easily cover hundreds of km's and get back into some amazing places. Another great thing is the hot springs are ideal for weary bones at the end of the day. It snowed last night and the hills we rode looked white so conditions probably have changed.

[Shibby!]

. Mat and I will MTB this trail on our next trip out!

.

Sounds like a good time!

You'll have to let me know where that trail is. I'd love to get some more seat time on my MTB bike, or bring both out and do MTB'ing and DB'ing.

[brad176]

The lower section of steamboat has old flagging from a cma harescramble loop, about a 10 km loop in total. Watch for the gun range on the north end of the loop, they put up barb wire fence and did not hang flags on it!! Mountain biked beside columbia lake easter weekend, no ice left in the ground there but heard yesterday new snow was down as low as the fairmont ski hill.